MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers let fans design a new uniform for the team to wear in a game.
Well, just for two exhibition games, but fans now can choose the design the Brewers will wear on the field.
Last fall, the Brewers announced the "Design a YOUniform" contest, allowing fans to submit a custom uniform design. The three finalists were released Tuesday; the winner will be revealed on Jan. 27 at the "Brewers On Deck" fan fest.
Nearly 700 entries were submitted and a panel of judges narrowed the designs down to three: Ron Verrecchio of Catonsville, Md., Ben Peters of Richfield, Minn., and Nicholas Fout of Madison, Wis.
All three will be on hand when the winner is announced at "Brewers On Deck" in a ceremony hosted by Brewers closer John Axford.
"The response to this initiative was tremendous," Brewers chief operating officer Rick Schlesinger said in a statement. "It's a contest that really has not been replicated before, and we were excited to see the creative efforts that the fans put into their designs."
The finalist whose design is chosen will get to see his design in action. The winner will receive airfare for two to Phoenix, $1,500 for hotel, transportation and other expenses and two tickets to Milwaukee's spring training game on March 22 against the Cubs.
The Brewers will also wear the uniforms on March 30 in an exhibition game against the Chicago White Sox at Miller Park.
The Brewers held a similar open contest in October and November 1977 and one of the most iconic logos in baseball came from it. The Brewers' famous ball and glove logo was a design submitted by Tom Meindel, an art student at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire at the time.
Meindel's design was chosen from more than 2,000 entries and he collected a $2,000 prize. The logo is still worn by the Brewers on the caps of their alternate uniforms.
Fans can vote for their favorite of the three designs on Brewers.com. The fan vote ends on Tuesday and will count for one vote in a panel of eight judges. Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, Axford, Schlesinger and representatives from Majestic, New Era and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will serve on the panel.
The winning design will also be on sale in the Brewers team store at Miller Park in Milwaukee, as well as at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix.
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